An SNP majority in Holyrood will be taken "seriously" by the UK Government, Douglas Alexander has pledged.
The Scottish Secretary made the statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday, in what will be a welcome pledge for the SNP.
However, the Labour MP for East Lothian said he did not anticipate his party losing to the SNP in the 2026 election.
SNP leader and First Minister John Swinney set out his party's plan to achieve Scottish independence, with a majority - at least 65s MSPs - in next year's Holyrood election considered enough to trigger negotiations.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been clear he does not intend to grant a second referendum on independence.
But during scheduled Scotland questions in the Commons, SNP MP Stephen Gethins read a quote by Sir Keir from 2021.
Mr Gethins said: “Can you tell us who said this? ‘If there is an SNP majority, it’s got to be looked at in Westminster’. Who said that?”
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Mr Alexander replied: “Mr Speaker, I sense it might be myself. We would take seriously any SNP majority. But if they were to be returned to office, I hope they would do better than they’ve done over the last 18 years.
“But I can assure you, on this side of the house, we’re not anticipating defeat. We’re working for victory.”
Mr Gethins, an Arbroath and Broughty Ferry MP, then said: : “This might get just a little bit awkward. It wasn’t the Secretary of State, although I do welcome his contribution to this.
“It was actually his boss, the leader of the Labour Party, the current Prime Minister. Very awkward indeed. Is he going to stick to that commitment or are we going to see Labour break yet another promise?”
The Scottish Secretary reiterated it was not his intention to allow a second referendum to go ahead.
Mr Alexander said: “We are clear an unequivocal that what we don’t want is the break up of the United Kingdom. As Scots, we made our choice in 2014 and that was a better future within the United Kingdom.”
It comes as defence procurement minister Luke Pollard told Scottish journalists Scottish independence would be a "win" for Vladimir Putin and Russia.
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He said: “We need to be absolutely clear: we live in a new era of threat. That means we need to invest more in keeping Britain safe. We need to invest in our people, our equipment and our alliances.
“Anything that rips apart our security is a win for Putin and is an attack on our national security.”
He also said the Scottish Government had “effectively attacked” the workers in the nuclear industry in Scotland.
At Scotland questions, Labour MP Melanie Ward asked the Scottish Secretary whether the SNP's plans to withdraw nuclear deterrent from the Clyde could be considered a benefit to the Kremlin.
Responding to whether Putin would be "rubbing his hands with glee", Mr Alexander said: "I wouldn't want to offer that in the face of Vladimir Putin's defence or approach to Euro-Atlantic security.
"The reality is, we have student gesture politics from the SNP."
He was also asked how the UK Government could prevent taxpayer cash being "squandered" on the "doomed" independence plan.
He replied: “We’ve committed £5.2 billion to the Scottish Government this year, the largest settlement in the 25 years of devolution.
“There’s a very basic question that as Scots we are asking: where’s the money going John?
“The reality is our services are getting worse, not better. We see industrial level waste from the SNP and that’s why it’s time for a new direction.”
SNP MP Brendan O’Hara hit back, arguing Labour has been “tanking” in the polls.
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